It's Complicated
by ghfann5
Summary: Summary inside. JaSam/LuMax romance, LuSam romance/friendship
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: _**_I tried not to make a new story with multiple chapters, I swear. it jsut came on its own. But since it's here...this is a JaSam/LuMax fic and I would like to thank BabyD-MontanaGirl for the inspiration. I hope you all enjoy!_

_Summary_**_:_ Lucky and Sam have done just about everything together since they first met as little kids. They were each other's first loves, and first heartbreaks. But no matter what, they've been the best of friends. But will the arrival of brother and sister Jason and Maxie test that bond?**

Carly rolled her eyes as she listened to the snickering from the back row. She was all for having a good time, but really, who could laugh during an STI slide show? She didn't even have to turn around to know the answer: her cousin Lucky and his "best friend" Sam.

Maybe if it was someone else making noise, she could have let it go, but these two...

They were so inappropriate sometimes. She didn't know why they were even in her Sex Ed class, which was usually designated for seniors. They should be in some gym class right now, but thanks to their loser friend Damien, they found some way around that.

Carly tried her hardest to pay no attention to their laughter, but then they started in on the one thing they knew Carly couldn't ignore.

"Carly."

"Carly."

"Caroline."

"Carrrleee."

"Hey, Carly."

"What?" she yelled. Not whisper-yelled like they had, but full-out screamed it.

"Spencer..." the instructor called.

"Finally," Carly said under her breath.

"Caroline, please step out of the classroom."

"What?"

She couldn't even think straight as her head whipped from her cousin and his trouble-making friend to their teacher and back again.

"Damn it, Lucky," she finally whispered. "I am going to kill you so slowly."

Lucky looked at her innocently while Sam fought laughter beside him.

"Now, Spencer."

Carly angrily grabbed her things and stomped out to the hallway.

She couldn't afford to be written up again, especially for something she didn't even do. She really hated those two, family be damned. This wasn't the first time either of them had screwed her over. It was definitely time for her to pay them back.

* * *

><p>"So what are we doing today?" Sam asked, throwing her bag on the lunchroom table.<p>

The girl Lucky was sitting with—who Sam completely ignored—rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Hi," she said too sugar-sweetly. "We were actually talking about _our_ plans for the day. I'm sure once we're done, though, you two can go hang out or...whatever."

Lucky was amused at how red Elizabeth became at her last statement.

"Oh, hey, Liz!" Sam exclaimed in faux-surprise. "That's weird. I didn't even see you there. And please, don't upset yourself over me and Lucky hanging out or...whatever," she said way more suggestively than Elizabeth accidentally had.

Lucky tried not to grin as he watched girlfriend squirm under Sam's stare.

"Lucky!" Elizabeth said as she slapped his knee.

"What?" She slapped his leg again.

"Okay, okay. Cut it out, Sam. Besides, Elizabeth knows that you and I don't do 'whatever.'"

"Anymore," Sam added not-so-under her breath.

"Sam," Lucky said warningly.

Before Sam could give some snarky response, the cafeteria was bombarded with music and cheering.

"Yay," Sam said, very unenthused. "It's the football team. And their perky cheerleaders."

"Aw, come on, Sam. Isn't your new boyfriend on the football team?" Elizabeth asked knowingly.

"What?" She shot deadly daggers Elizabeth's way.

"Robin and I were over at the Drake house the other day with Matt, and we saw you from the kitchen sneaking up to his room. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together."

"Well, no one's ever accused you of being a genius, Liz."

"Whatever." She stood up with her things. "Besides, my brother's on the team, and he confirmed what I already knew." She turned to Lucky and bent down to whisper in his ear. "I'll see _you_ later." With that she sauntered off.

If she was trying to be seductive or anything, Lucky had missed it. He was busy having a very intense staring contest with Sam.

"It's not what you think," she said as soon as Elizabeth was out of earshot.

"It doesn't matter what I think. We're not together anymore. If you're fine with me and Elizabeth, then I'm fine with you and Patrick, even if he is a douche bag."

"Alright, let's get a couple of things straight, Lucas. First, I will never be okay with you and _Elizabeth_. And second, there is no me and Patrick."

"Whatever. Look, I'm probably going to be busy the rest of the day after school. Elizabeth and I are going out later. So I'll see you?"

"Wait, why are you leaving now?"

"Need to go clear up that problem for Carly before she actually kills me."

"Hey." Sam grabble his arm as he stood. "You're not mad, are you?"

Lucky tried to smile playfully. "When have I ever been mad at you?"

Sam smiled in return and let his arm go. As she watched him leave, the aforementioned jock made his way toward her. She wasn't really one to give a damn about her reputation, but that last thing she needed was to add fuel to Liz's rumor by being seen with Patrick. As she went in the direction of the exit, she looked back to see Patrick smoothly change his course to the next table over where a group of freshmen girls sat.

Not paying attention to where she was going, she found herself bouncing off of a very tall—well, to her he was tall—man, who caught her mid-fall. And not really a man, she noticed after a moment of ogling. He seemed to be around her age. And he was staring at her. She started to get uncomfortable in his arms.

"You can let go now," she said, maintaining her cool.

"S-sorry."

"And yet, you're still touching me."

"Sorry," he said again, slowly letting go of her. "I'm Jason."

"And I'm not interested." Which was a complete lie. Sam had never seen this kid before, and if his body wasn't enough to get her interested—come on, those lean muscles, blonde hair, quirky smile, and those dazzling blue eyes—then the quiet way he spoke certainly was. It was something she didn't experience much growing up in Port Charles; he had a polite, gentle way about him. He wasn't grabby like the other guys in school; well, how they _were_ before had to make an example out of that poor Manny kid.

This guy was just _new _and exciting, something this town rarely ever experienced, if you excused the occasional virus outbreak or mob war, but really, that was to be expected.

"Jason."

Sam looked behind the guy and saw a girl—almost exact same eyes and hair as him—watch Jason impatiently.

"Come on, we're going to be late."

"I'm coming, Maxie."

Apparently this Maxie chick didn't think he was moving fast enough. She walked over to the two, who were still standing too damn close, as far as Sam was concerned.

"Hi," the blonde greeted her. "I'm Maxie." She held out her hand to shake.

"Don't bother," Jason said. "She's not interested."

Before Maxie could question what he meant, he softly grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

After they were gone, Sam realized she was just standing there with nothing to do. Whatever, she decided. She didn't have time for new people.

* * *

><p>"You know, I saw what happened earlier."<p>

"What are you talking about?" Jason asked his sister as he drove them home.

"That girl with the black hair?"

"It wasn't black. It was more..." He glanced over at Maxie who was giving him a knowing glance.

"Shut up," he grumbled.

"Whatever. I can't believe you even talked to her. Usually if you come close to a girl you get really awkward. I saw that little flirty thing you did with her at the end. She looked kind of impressed. Very smooth."

Jason couldn't help but smile a little at the compliment. He didn't really care for Maxie to get involved in his love life—not that he really had one—but he knew that she was kind of an expert on these kinds of things.

"But you still need a little work. Just stick with me, Jase. I'll make sure you have a girlfriend by the end of the month."


	2. Chapter 2

Maxie plopped down ungracefully in her seat near the back of the room, waiting to be bored out of her mind. She didn't like school, like, at all, but of all the subjects she hated, she hated history the most. At least she got to go to lunch after this. Hopefully she would be able to stay awake for the next hour and twenty minutes. It was just sooo freaking BORING! She didn't care about the civil war or the Depression or any of the revolutions. Timelines confused her and remembering the names of historic figures hurt her brain. She already knew that she would have to hustle in order to pass this class. She didn't even have Jason to keep her company, which meant that she had to meet new people. She wasn't shy like Jason at all. In fact, she loved talking. It was just that other people usually didn't like to hear what she had to say. She couldn't help it if she was an honest person. Sometimes she was brutally honest. Jason warned her time and time again that she came on too strongly and her mouth was the reason most people stayed away from her. Well, the girls anyway. A lot of the times, the guys she met never minded what she said. Mostly because they weren't listening, but thinking up ways to get her clothes off. But when they found out that she wasn't that kind of girl, they usually had no use for her either. So she was going to try a different approach at this new school. Let the people come to her. And as if on cue...

"Hi."

Maxie looked up and saw a brunette girl smiling down on her.

"Hi," she answered back. Nice and simple.

"You're new here."

_Stating the obvious_, she thought. She caught herself before saying it out loud.

"Yep. Me and my brother just moved here."

"Brother? Tall quiet blonde guy?"

_Great, not again_. "That's him."

"Cute. I'm Elizabeth, by the way."

"Maxie."

"Alright class, clear your desks of everything except something to write with."

"Ugh," Elizabeth said. "Don't you just hate pop quizzes?"

"What?" Maxie screeched as the other girl walked away.

"Um, excuse me," Maxie said as she raised her hand. When she got the balding man's attention she felt all eyes on her. She didn't mind the attention.

"Yeah," she continued. "Today's my first day and I don't really know what the procedure is on this kind of thing, but I'm not ready to take a quiz or anything."

"Miss Jones, I am aware that today is your first day in class, but when you visited all of your classes yesterday, I gave you all of the materials you would need for today."

"You mean those chapters in the book? You expected me to read all of that?"

She got a little red when she heard the snickers around the room.

"Please, Miss Jones. You take the quiz or you don't, I don't care. But remember that it's your grade. I advise you to take this class more seriously in the future."

_What the hell?_ She had only been in class five minutes and her teacher was already picking on her. She decided not to say anything else though. She didn't need to dig herself into a hole so soon. She sighed and put her notebook under her desk.

A few minutes into the quiz, Maxie was still staring at these stupid questions. She started putting down any answers, each more silly than the last. When she was finished, she looked around to see the rest of the students writing furiously.

_They take this stuff way too seriously_. As she was pondering ways to make her dreary uniform a little better—without breaking any dress codes—the classroom door burst open. Everyone looked up as the boy nonchalantly walked in and took a seat next to Maxie. He looked over at her and smiled.

"Hello," Maxie said. Screw waiting for the people to come to her. As soon as she saw him she felt like she had to know this guy.

Lucky stuck out his hand for her to shake. "Lucky Spencer," he said.

Maxie gladly took his hand. "Maxie Jones."

"Mr. Spencer!"

Lucky sighed and took his hand away from Maxie's, much to her dismay.

"Yes, Mr. Wright."

"You know the rules, Spencer." A vein in Mr. Wright's forehead began to move and his face was turning darkening in anger.

"That I do, Mr. Wright." Lucky stood and dug around in his pocket. "Here's my note from the office," he said, handing the instructor a folded up piece of paper.

Mr. Wright practically snatched the paper away from him. Lucky sat back down smirking, knowing he couldn't get in trouble for this one.

Maxie watched him. She was already captivated by him. She liked the way he acted like he could get away with anything. And from the look on the teacher's face, he could. Lucky looked over to her again. They held each other's gaze for a moment. She got this weird feeling when he looked at her. She felt like looking in his eyes could tell her everything she needed to know about him. She could tell he was open. Maybe he'd be open to her?

"Everyone pass up your papers."

Maxie rolled her eyes as she handed her paper to the kid in front of her. She already knew that this teacher would not like her after today.

For the next forty minutes, Lucky listened to Wright drone on about something. He didn't really care. He was still thinking about Sam, and he hated it. Why did he even care? He loved her, yeah, but like a friend. She could date anyone she wanted, just like he had. Well, he didn't necessarily _want_ to date Elizabeth. He just needed someone to hang out with and she was there, and somehow that escalated into a full-blown relationship. He didn't mind, though. They had fun together. And she annoyed Sam. He knew it was childish, but a part of him wanted to rub their breakup in her face, and what better way than with someone she couldn't stand?

He looked over to Elizabeth, who he could always count on to be watching him. The attention was nice. But he noticed that he was getting attention from somewhere else, too. In front of Elizabeth was the new girl, Maxie. He noticed her looking at him a few times during the beginning class. She was beautiful, he had to admit. Her sparkling blue eyes and full, pouty lips had him intrigued. Now, though, she wasn't paying attention to him, or anything else for that matter. She propped up her head on her hand while she dozed in and out, with her short blonde hair falling into her eyes. For some reason, he wanted to reach over and move it out of her face. He looked back at Elizabeth. The look on her face let him know that she had seen him looking at the new girl. He sighed. He didn't have the energy to defend himself to her anymore. He had a very jealous girlfriend and it was his own fault for choosing her to get under Sam's skin.

It always came back to Sam. They had broken up about four months ago after dating for almost a year. They agreed to be friends because that's what they had always been. They couldn't imagine their lives without the other. They grew up together and got into trouble together, and that's what they would continue to do.

Maxie practically jumped out of her seat when the bell rang.

_Damn_, she thought. _I missed the whole class_. She waited a bit while everyone else started to leave the classroom. With mostly everyone gone, she stood up and stretched.

"Miss Jones, Mr. Spencer," the teacher said. "I trust that your papers will be on my desk at the start of class tomorrow?" He left, smiling at the students' stumped expressions.

Maxie turned to Lucky. "What paper?"

Lucky shrugged his shoulder looking as confused as she was.

"On the pros and cons of the New Deal," Elizabeth informed them as she put her arm around Lucky's waist, with Lucky putting his around her shoulder in response.

"Oh," Maxie said. Sure she was disappointed that Lucky already had a girlfriend, thought not surprised. But she learned a long time ago to not show her true feelings unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Maxie, right?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah. And thanks for the paper thing."

"No problem. Would you like to have lunch with us?"

Lucky's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. Usually Elizabeth didn't like any girl to be around Lucky. He figured that she must be up to something.

"Actually, I was going to have lunch with my brother. Besides, I don't want to be the third wheel or whatever."

"Don't be silly!" Elizabeth said. "You can bring your brother, too. The more the merrier. Besides, you wouldn't be crashing anything. Lucky's friends Sam and Damien usually sit with us."

Maxie looked at Lucky. "Are you sure?"

"Fine with me," Lucky said.

"Well in that case, thank you and I'll see you at lunch. I just need to find my brother and we'll meet you there?"

"Great! See you there."

With that, Lucky and Elizabeth left. Maxie looked around to make sure no teachers were lurking around as she took out her phone. She knew Jason probably wouldn't want to sit with a bunch of people he didn't know, but he would do it for her. She sent the message and waited for Jason's response. A simple "fine" was his reply. At least it wouldn't be too awkward sitting with Lucky and his _girlfriend_ if Jason was there. And who knew, maybe Lucky's friends were as attractive as him. She doubted it though.


	3. Chapter 3

"Come on, Jase. A half hour of getting to know some new people won't be so bad. I've been telling you for years now that you have to come out of your shell."

"I could say the same to you."

Maxie stopped walking. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

"Whatever. Let's just go in there and at least pretend to have a good time."

"Fine."

"I really wish you would stop saying that."

"Whatever."

They walked into the lunch room and Maxie looked for Lucky and Elizabeth. "Oh, there they are," she pointed out.

Jason took a deep breath. There was no way he was getting out of this now. They went over and stood by their table.

"Hey," Maxie said.

Lucky looked up at them and smiled. Maxie almost passed out. Then she looked at Elizabeth. _Damn him and that charming smile_.

"Lucky, Elizabeth, this is my brother—"

"Jason!" Elizabeth finished for her. "We're in calculus first period together."

Jason nodded in acknowledgement. "Nice to meet you, both of you."

"Hey, man," Lucky greeted him.

"Have a seat," Elizabeth instructed.

Maxie and Jason did as they were told.

"So where are your friends?" Maxie asked, just so someone was talking.

"Sam's—oh, there's Spinelli now. Well Damien, but all his friends call him Spinelli."

Maxie nodded as she remembered that Elizabeth referred to him as Damien earlier. _Interesting_.

"Spin," Lucky said as this gawky-looking kid with glasses and shaggy hair approached the table. His hair wasn't cute-shaggy like Lucky's, Maxie noted. Spinelli's looked like he had rolled out of the bed and didn't bother to take a shower. He was kind of cute, though.

"This is Maxie and Jason. They're new here."

"Most esteemed," Spinelli said as he took a seat next to Maxie.

"Damien Spinelli, or if you prefer, Spinelli, Spin, The Jackal. Whichever you want."

Maxie giggled. "Nice to meet you, Spinelli."

Again, Jason nodded his head.

Maxie rolled her eyes. "This is my brother Jason. He's not rude or anything. He just doesn't like to talk a lot."

"No worries, man," Lucky said. "Besides, I get the feeling that Maxie here does enough talking for the both of you." He winked at her, which didn't go unnoticed by Elizabeth.

"Yes, she does," Jason said.

"What can I say? Talking is one of my favorite pastimes."

That earned a few laughs from the table.

"So, what about your friend Sam? Is he hot?"

Lucky nearly spit out the soda he was drinking. When he composed himself, he asked out loud, "Is Sam hot? Well..."

"Aww, the gang's all here!"

Everyone looked up to see the pint-sized girl smiling at them.

"Yeah," Lucky said. "Sam's pretty hot."

"Why thank you. Here I was feeling like crap, and you come along and brighten my day."

"Anytime. Maxie, Jason, this is Sam."

Sam bit her bottom lip. "Yeah, we kind of met yesterday. Sorry about that. Sometimes I'm a rude bitch for no reason."

"Don't worry about it. I get that way sometimes. Most of the time, actually."

Sam smiled at Maxie, who was looking her up and down. "I really like what you've done with your uniform."

Sam looked down at her blue and white plaid skirt that stopped right above the knees over her black leggings and combat boots. She topped it all off with an oversized leather jacket. She looked at Maxie like she was crazy. Sam knew she didn't have any kind of real fashion sense.

"Are you joking?"

"No. It's not boring like everything else in this school."

Sam had to admit, she liked this girl already.

"That's true. Hey, Spin."

She took a the only available seat next to Maxie, which just happened to sandwich her in right next to Jason. Sam took a risk and looked at him.

_Still as gorgeous as the last time_.

She smiled at him in an effort to be friendly. He didn't do or say anything in response. He just looked at her, which kind of freaked her out.

"So," Elizabeth said. "Where are you two from?"

Sam had never been so happy to have Elizabeth around. Well, she wasn't happy, just relieved that she had somewhere else to put her attention.

"We just came from Florida. Before that it was California, and then Texas before that. But I grew up in Chicago."

"Wow. Why'd you guys travel so much?"

"No real reason except that our parents don't like to stay in one place for too long. Our dad's a novelist and our mom's a real-estate agent. It's a blessing and a curse. A blessing for the money and a curse for all the moving."

Lucky could swear that she hadn't taken at least one breath yet.

Jason shook his head at his sister. Sometimes she was just too much.

"Wait," Elizabeth said. "Jason, your last name's Morgan right?"

Jason knew the questions would start coming, but not this soon. "Right," he answered, giving no further explanation.

"Jason is technically my foster brother. Practically adopted. Once he turned eighteen, it was like, what's the point? But since when has blood ever mattered, right?"

"Right," Lucky agreed.

"You would never know you two weren't related by blood from just looking at you," Elizabeth said.

"Yeah, we get that a lot, which is why we usually don't bother telling people. I keep telling him that he should start going by Jones. But he said it would be like me changing my last name to Morgan. It's just now me. Besides, then my initials would be MM instead of MJ, which I think sounds cuter. And Jason would be JJ. I like the sound of that, too, but Jason _really _doesn't. Anyway, I just think it's a nice story. But Jason would just rather let everyone think what they want. He's like that about a lot of things. I personally think—OW! I can't believe you just kicked me!"

"I can't believe you're still talking," Jason said looking past Sam at his annoying sister.

"What? You can be so annoying sometimes, Jason."

"I know the feeling," Lucky said to Jason. "I've got a little sister, too." He looked up. "Speaking of the devil..."

"I hate this school," said a blonde girl with a frown on her face. "Lucky, can you take me home?"

"Sorry, Lulu. You know I can't."

"No, you _can_. You just won't. How about you Sam?"

"Sorry kid. Rules is rules."

"You guys suck."

"What's wrong, Lulu?" Sam asked.

"Carly's stupid friends."

"What happened?" Lucky asked.

"Apparently, I'm a joke. I just wanted to try out for the cheerleading team. I signed up and they wouldn't even let me try. And my own cousin wouldn't even help me. She can be such a bitch sometimes."

"Hi, I'm Maxie."

Lulu looked over to the stranger, taken off guard by her spontaneous introduction.

"Um, hi. Lulu."

"I heard. So, Lulu, can I ask you a question?"

Lulu looked at Lucky, who just watched in amusement. He gave her a nod to let her know Maxie was okay.

"Sure, I guess."

"Why do you want to be a cheerleader? I mean if you really like cheerleading, then more power to you. But why would you want to associate yourself with a bunch of bitches? And if you still want to go audition or whatever, then don't let those other girls stop you." Maxie looked from Lulu to everyone else at the table. They all seemed kind of amazed. "What? I'm just saying..."

Lulu was the first to say anything.

"I never really thought about it like that. I just wanted to be a part of something so people would finally notice me, and not just for being related to Lucky or Carly."

"Well if that's the case, then start your own thing that everyone else wants to be a part of. That's what I did at my old schools. Right Jason?"

Jason nodded again.

"Oh, Lulu, this is my brother Jason.

"Hi, Jason." Lulu looked at her brother and Elizabeth. "You guys mind if I sit with you?"

"Of course you can sit with us," Maxie answered like this was _her_ regular table.

Lulu chuckled. "Thanks." She looked around and saw that there were no more chairs. Before Lucky could go find her one, Jason was already on his feet.

"Here you go," he said as he gestured for Lulu to sit down.

"Oh, no," she said. "Really, you don't have to."

"You night as well just take the chair," Maxie said. "Jason's got this thing about manners. Don't know where the hell he got that from."

"Well, thank you, Jason," Lulu replied as she took a seat.

"You're welcome." He quickly found another chair and pulled it up to the table. Everyone moved around a little to make more room.

And despite Maxie's efforts, it was starting to get a little quiet again. Sam couldn't stand it either.

"So what grade are you in?" she asked.

"I'm a junior and Jason's a senior. How about you?"

"Lucky, Spinelli, and I are juniors, too. Lulu and _Liz_ are sophomores."

Maxie noticed how Elizabeth reacted to being called that. It really seemed to get under her skin. Or maybe it was just Sam that made her act that way. Not that she really cared. Elizabeth was nice to her and everything, but she couldn't see them as friends. Sam, on the other hand, seemed really cool. Maybe Port Charles wouldn't be so bad after all. Well, for her at least. She looked at Jason, who was still quiet as ever. She sighed, wishing he would snap out of it. She knew she had to be patient though. Jason hadn't had the easiest life, and it took him a while to get comfortable around new people. And with all the moving around, it was like he just gave up trying. But this was Jason's last chance at a real high school experience since their parents promised that they would stay until Maxie graduated. She looked at her brother again. He looked like he was in pain. Then Maxie saw who he was looking at. Sam seemed to know that he was watching her too, but she kept her eyes focused ahead of her. Maybe Sam was step one in getting her brother to enjoy himself.

"So, does anyone have biology or anatomy next period?"

"I have anatomy," Sam said.

"Really?" Maxie knew that was a long shot but it paid off. "So does Jason. I thought you had to have biology or chemistry as a junior."

"Sam's crazy smart," Lucky said. "Her and Spinelli have enough credits to graduate already."

"Wow," Maxie said, truly impressed. "No offense, Sam, but I would not have pegged you as a brain at all."

Sam laughed. "No offense taken."

"The Goddess would never consider herself as such either. And if it were her choice, she would most likely gladly excel at her own pace."

"'The Goddess'? Wait, what?"

"No one can understand what Damien says most of the time. Except Lucky and Samantha."

Sam cut her eyes at Elizabeth. She thought better of showing her hatred for that girl in front of Jason and Maxie so soon.

"Liz is right," she said as she turned back to Maxie. "Spinellie speak takes a while to get used to. He's just saying that I don't really care for the academics, but my mother does. A lot. She has pushed me every step of the way, and she probably won't stop until I'm at the top. She's a hot-shot lawyer and she expects me to follow in her footsteps. And I love my mom, but I don't want to be like her career-wise. I wouldn't exactly call her an ambulance chaser, but I will say that she has a nose for high-profile cases."

"Unfortunately, Sam doesn't have a very long attention span. I personally think that she'd be the worst lawyer ever."

"Hey!" Sam balled up her napkin and threw it at Lucky.

"I'm just saying if I'm ever in trouble, I don't want you defending me."

"And we all know you'll be the one most likely to need a lawyer in the near future."

"That's true. But you'll probably need that lawyer right alongside me. Sam's kind of my sidekick," Lucky explained to the newcomers.

"'Sidekick' my ass! At most, we're partners in crime. And I think if anyone's the sidekick, it's Spinelli. No offense."

"Of course not. The Jackal will always proudly use his savvy in front of the screen and behind the action to assist The Goddess and her Charming—I mean, uh, the Suave Bandit." He looked meekly between his friends. "Sincerest apologies."

"Don't worry about it, Spin," Lucky said, avoiding eye contact with Sam.

"Oh, yeah," Elizabeth said in a huff as she stood. "No one can break up this merry band of misfits." She then stormed off while Sam rolled her eyes.

"You should probably go after her," Maxie said.

"She'll be fine," said Lucky. "She does that almost every lunch."

"Must be the food," Sam said.

_Awkward..._ "So," Maxie said, "'Suave Bandit.' What's that all about?"

"Ah, nothing. Just this stupid thing from when we were kids."

"You mean last month, Lucky?"

"Hey, it was your idea to break in there, Sam."

"It was a joke! I can't believe you actually did it."

"And I can't believe you went along with it."

Just then it hit Maxie, like there was a sudden shift in the air. That's why Elizabeth was so upset. Either Lucky and Sam had done the dirty, they were still doing it, or they really wanted to. It was all over their faces. They knew each other _well_. They were comfortable. Well Maxie had dead-wrong instincts this time. She thought that maybe she and Lucky and Sam and Jason could hang out and maybe someday at least one of the couples would become more than friends. That idea just flew out the window. It was obvious. Lucky and Sam were in love.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: sorry for the wait. had some free time this weekend so...btw, for anyone who might read It's A Family Thing, please just bear with me. it's a lot going on with that one. ah, well. ENJOY!**_

Maxie often wished she was older—usually for partying reasons—but today she absolutely relished the idea of being a senior, not trapped in that stupid school with those stupid kids for the stupid college fair. And her ride was NOWHERE to be found!

Maxie tapped her foot on the concrete impatiently. She knew that Jason needed his personal space or whatever, and she respected that. Usually. But today was a really crappy day for her and she needed to get home, ASAP.

Maxie texted her brother again. After a minute and no response, she decided to call him again. Straight to voicemail. Maxie left her third message.

"Jason, I swear if you are not here in TWO minutes, I am going to hunt you down and kill you. So unless you're half-dead in a ditch somewhere, you better get your ass here, NOW."

Maxie immediately felt bad. She hated yell at people. Well, that wasn't completely true. She hated yelling at Jason. He never deserved it. She sighed and pulled out her phone again...

"Okay so I didn't mean that. I'm just really desperate to get out of here. And if you are half-dead or in a ditch or both, I am so sorry and I hope you make it out. Just let me know how long you'll be. Call me. Bye."

"Hey, Maxie!"

Maxie whipped her head around to see Lucky jogging toward her. She really didn't need this right now.

She turned her face forward and crossed her arms over her chest. "Yes?"

Lucky grinned at her irritated tone. "Need a ride?"

She thought about it for a moment. She _did_ need a ride home, but not from Lucky.

"No, thank you. Jason's on his way. He should be here any minute now."

"That's funny."

"What?"

"You get all proper when you're upset."

"I do not!" Maxie said indignantly with her chin raised.

"You do to!" Lucky mocked. "It's adorable."

Maxie grimaced. "There are a lot of things I hate being called, and 'adorable' is one of them."

"Okay, I won't say it anymore, even if it's true. So what should I call you?"

He took a step closer to Maxie. She held her breath.

_Is this really happening?_

"You know I was curious, is Maxie short for something?"

Maxie inhaled, which was a big mistake as she took in his clean scent. She was flustered for a moment. He was driving her crazy, and he didn't even seem to notice it. They had taken up this friendly back-and-forth flirtation, but Maxie couldn't deny that she had wanted more since they first met. But she wasn't a home wrecker, despite what anyone said about her. She wouldn't go after Lucky while he was still in a relationship. Or getting over one. Maxie Jones was no guy's 'other woman' or rebound. For now, faux-fake-flirting with Lucky would have to be enough.

"Maximilliana. Mariah, actually. But I go by my middle name."

"Hm. Mariah Maximilliana. I like it."

"Glad you approve."

"Okay, Mariah. Do you need that ride?"

How could she resist? "So eager to take me home, Spencer. I always knew you were."

Lucky smirked and turned, leading Maxie to his beat-up car. Maxie left Jason another message to disregard the past messages, and then left a text just to make sure he got it.

Never truly at a loss for words, Maxie talked about every school-related thing she could think of, from boring classes to the college fair. She had been going on for almost ten minutes talking about the fashion club she and Lulu planned on creating. Lucky was always grateful for her company. If ever he needed to get his mind off of something, Maxie was the one to go to. _Mariah_. She was just so...easygoing. He was lucky—no pun intended—to have Maxie enter his life. It wasn't as easy being with her as it used to be with Sam, and it definitely was not like his 'relationship' with Elizabeth. Sometimes he would catch himself mentally comparing her to Elizabeth, thinking how much easier it would be if the two could trade places. Then he would accidentally find himself comparing Maxie to Sam. In that light, the blonde paled in comparison. It wasn't fair to compare any of them to each other, even if it was only in his head. They were different people, not really better or worse than one another. If only his heart could rationalize as well as his mind.

"Is Elizabeth your girlfriend?" Maxie's question completely broke Lucky out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"Is she like your real girlfriend or is she just someone you date?"

Lucky raised an eyebrow, wondering why Maxie would even care. "Well if you ask her—"

"I'm asking you."

He looked at her now. Her face was kind of serious.

"I, uh, I guess we're...dating?"

"Is that a question? Are you not sure? Do you even like her?"

Lucky sighed. He really wished she was being light-hearted Maxie right now.

"Of course I like her. I wouldn't _date_ her if I didn't."

"Oh. I thought you were _dating_ her to make Sam jealous."

Lucky then began focusing extremely hard on the road ahead of him. He cleared his throat.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

Maxie sighed. "It's okay. We don't have to talk about it. I just thought I'd ask."

They went another two minutes without talking about anything. All the while, Lucky was wondering how she knew.

"Why would you say that? About me trying to make Sam jealous."

Maxie turned to face him. "Well it's not exactly a secret that Sam and Elizabeth don't like each other. It was obvious from day one. And so was the fact that you have feelings for Sam. Plus, I have experience in these matters."

"Look, I don't know what you _think_ is going on, but Sam and I never...we're just friends. Always have been."

Maxie studied Lucky's face. He was a very bad liar. He wore the truth all over his face.

"Bull. Besides, I heard that you two used to date. But I'm guessing you parted on good terms, seeing as how you're together every day. Which is also why I think you might still be kinda hung up on her. I mean, people only _want_ to spend more time with their ex for two reasons."

Maxie paused as Lucky waited for her sage words.

"One: they want to rub how well off they are to the ex. Two: you want her back. Usually, as with your case, the person sticks around for both reasons."

Lucky couldn't believe this. Maxie didn't even know him, not really. Not like...well, she had just met him. She shouldn't be able to analyze him so well. She was getting too involved in his very personal life. He couldn't blow up at her for stating the truth, but he did _not_ want to talk about it anymore.

"Why were you so mad today?"

Maxie rolled her eyes. "Smooth." Obviously she wasn't going to get much further. "I wasn't mad, just annoyed."

"At...?"

"High school. The people there. _Cheerleaders_."

"Hey! I'm dating a cheerleader. Or did you forget about the newest addition to the team?"

"Oh no. I remember."

Lucky heard the bitterness in Maxie's voice.

"Oh, man. What happened with Elizabeth?"

Maxie looked at him, seeing that the sarcasm in his voice rivaled the concern in his eyes. _How did he do that?_

"It's over. Don't worry about it. It wasn't a big deal anyway."

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

"'The lady doth protest too much, methinks,'" Maxie corrected. "It's always misquoted."

Lucky looked at her quizzically.

She giggled. "I don't know why I know that. I have got to stop spending so much time with Spinelli." She started laughing again. Lucky was kind of confused, but he couldn't help but join in. Her laugh was contagious.

Once their pointless laughter died down, he asked her again.

"Seriously, what happened? You were pretty upset for it to have been nothing."

"Look, I don't like to make judgment calls on anyone—"

Lucky scoffed, but then quickly apologized.

"_Anyway_, I won't say anything more than I think you could do better."

Lucky's first thought was that he _had_ done better. His second was that he _could_ do better with his driving companion. His third was that he was an ass for not defending his—the girl he was dating.

"Maxie, I keep telling you. You just have to give it a little time before you get used to Elizabeth. She's a pretty good person."

"Well you know how they say you can't judge a book by its cover?"

Lucky nodded.

"Well, the same rule applies even when the book is still pristinely wrapped in plastic. Elizabeth may be squeaky clean on the outside, but if you're not careful, you're going to be covered in her germs."

Lucky furrowed his brows. "You make it sound like she's got some kind of disease." He looked over to Maxie, who seemed to be replaying her poor choice of words. Once again, she completely lost it.

"I wasn't even thinking of it like that! Ugh, that did sound a little gross, though."

Lucky's laughter joined hers again. "Yeah, you kinda lost me at the end there. I think the overall message was good though. I need to watch my back or Liz is going to give me some secret STD."

Maxie was hysterical now. "I was just...sometimes you have...keep your...guard up!"

Lucky didn't stop laughing until they were in front of his house.

"Um..." Maxie said as she looked out the window. "I don't live here."

"I know," Lucky said, breathlessly. "I do."

Maxie raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you had in mind, Spencer, but..."

"You made me lose focus that I completely forgot where I was going."

He looked at his house and then back at Maxie.

"Since we're here, do you want to come in?"

Maxie had to think for a moment. Could she trust herself alone with him?

"Is anyone else here?" she asked.

"Just Lulu, but she's probably so out of it from cold medicine that she won't even notice we're there. So, you coming in?"

Lucky looked at her innocently. Did he even know what he had just asked of her? To go into his practically empty home and just, what, hang out? Couldn't he tell that this like a dream come true for her? Hell, the only reason she cared about his relationship status was so she could gauge where she could possibly fit in. She wasn't sure she could control herself if she was alone with him.

He was looking at her like it was perfectly reasonable to invite his new friend into his house.

Maxie smiled. "Sure."

No, he had no idea what he had just gotten himself into.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Wow, so sorry! I could have sworn I put this up already.**_

Jason lay in bed staring at the ceiling, not wanting to do anything. He couldn't get her off of his mind. Her mocha eyes. Her long, dark, chestnut hair. Her laugh. Her smile; that alone was enough to mesmerize him.

Things were kind of awkward between them. If she ever tried to strike up a casual conversation with him, his stumbling over words quickly killed it. It was times like those that he wished he was more like his sister, who would overtly flirt with Lucky even if his girlfriend was around, and then easily laugh it off. He wanted to have that with Sam, and Maxie knew it.

_**~yesterday~**_

_One day on their way to anatomy, Sam and Jason were joined by the bubbly blonde. Walking between them, Maxie leaned over and whispered something in Sam's ear, eliciting an abrupt chortle from her. Jason looked puzzled at the two as they both eyed him._

"_What?" he'd asked._

"_Nothing," Maxie answered. "Well I have to get to bio. Later, guys."_

_As Maxie veered off to her own class, Jason and Sam continued walking to theirs. Sam kept stealing glances at Jason the entire way, which he noticed. They entered their anatomy class, taking seats next to each other. Sam watched Jason take out his textbook, notebook, and two pencils and place them orderly on his desk. _

_She chuckled and he looked at her, not able to suppress the small smile that came when he saw hers._

"_So studious," she said._

"_And is that a bad thing?"_

"_No, not all of the time. But sometimes, you have to relax."_

"_I am relaxed," Jason replied a bit defensively._

"_Oh, I'm sure you are. Probably having fun too, huh? Came to class all prepared, just like a good little boy."_

"_Believe me, Sam, I'm no _boy_," he almost whispered. He was definitely a little pissed at her teasing, even though he knew she was only joking. Sometimes his temper got the better of him._

_Sam's eyes widened at his harsh tone and unintended implication._

"_No, I guess not," she said with a smirk as she turned in her seat toward the front of the class. "All man from where _I'm_ sitting."_

That gave Jason the perfect opening, but his brain just wouldn't function. He would have thought she was flirting if she'd been any other girl. But Sam was different. She was hard to figure out, which Jason prided himself in being good at. Just because he didn't talk to people didn't mean that he didn't know them. But all he could tell about Sam was that she ran hot and cold; happy and playful one moment and moody and detached the next. Well, he knew _that_, but he also knew that she was beautiful. It was just a simple fact. Maybe her beauty was clouding his judgment?

The thought was ridiculous. Jason Morgan always kept a clear mind, and he didn't get attached to people. And yet, Sam McCall had already captured his full attention. Every thought was Sam, this tiny girl he had only known for under a month. It was driving him crazy. And he couldn't have that. He needed to always stay aware and focused. He had to remind himself to stay in control. He didn't know her that well, but he was pretty sure that Sam would get him into trouble. Still, the thought didn't stop him from replaying that moment in his head since it happened.

He wondered what Maxie had said to her to make her actually talk to him. Thinking of his sister, he looked at the time on the clock above his door with a start. He was supposed to pick up his sister...about an hour ago.

_Damn_.

Jason knew that Maxie would be pissed. He wasn't afraid of his sister. Sure, others should be worried about getting on her bad side, but he was usually spared from her wrath. He'd probably just have to endure her silent treatment, but it didn't faze him.

He went and grabbed his phone from his desk to see how many messages she left him. He sighed when he took note of all of the missed calls, voicemails, and text messages. He checked his text messages first while he reached for the doorknob to make his way out to his car. He stopped walking, barely reaching the front door, when he read her last message.

_4get it. lucky's gonna give me a ride home. hope ur still alive ;)_

Jason scoffed a laugh, knowing that Lucky was trapped. He had to admit, whenever his little sister wanted something, she would get it. Or she would force Jason to get it for her. Either way, Lucky was in for a surprise.

With nothing else to do, Jason decided he would go out for a quick drive. While he drove, he could hardly think of anything but Sam. He knew he should probably stay away; Maxie futilely told him to just forget about her, at least for now. She wouldn't even give him any explanation, except that he should trust her and wait until she cleared a few things up, whatever that meant. But obviously he couldn't ignore whatever it is he was feeling about her. He just wanted to talk to her, to know _everything_ about her. He found himself _needing_ to know what she was doing and who she was doing it with. He wanted to know where she came from and where she wanted to go. But he always got tongue-tied around her, making it impossible to find out. He was forced by his own shyness to sit back and observe to learn more about her. And that still left much to the imagination.

After about a half-hour, he was across the street from the diner Kelly's. Apparently, his stomach realized this as it growled almost on command. He walked in from the cool fall breeze into the comforting embrace of the small establishment. He'd only been there once before with Maxie, but he really enjoyed everything about it. He liked the nice waitresses and the cozy atmosphere and especially the food. He spotted a familiar face behind the counter and walked over to place an order.

"Jason, what can I get for you?" the blonde asked.

"A burger with everything and fries."

"Yep. And to drink?"

"Just water, please."

"Alright. I'll have your food out in a few minutes."

"Thanks, Carly."

Carly just smiled playfully and rolled her eyes. She always teased him in calculus about his manners. She'd never met a guy her age that was so polite. Jason smiled back at her. He realized quickly that most of his new friends didn't really like her, even her own family, but he actually found her to be nice company. Besides, he wasn't the kind of person to let anyone in his life dictate who he could and could not hang out with, even if it made them uncomfortable.

As his classmate walked to the back to put in his order, he looked around to find a place to sit. And that's when he saw her. She was sitting in a booth, with two little girls beside her. She was laughing while helping the younger one—she was maybe around one year old—wipe something from her face. The older girl, who looked to be no more than four, sat giggling as she purposely smeared ice cream over her face. Sam looked over to her, and then sighed and let her forehead hit the table. The little girls seemed to get a kick out of this. When Sam lifted her head, they were hysterical when they saw that she had chocolate syrup on her nose.

Jason watched a smile light up her face, looking as childlike as her companions. He wasn't sure why, but he felt like he needed to do it. He had plenty of opportunities before, and while she was enjoying a private moment probably wasn't the best, but something inside of him was forcing his feet to move toward this woman that had permanently filled a part of his heart already.

Sam loved spending time with Kristina and Molly. If she could, she would do nothing but that for the rest of her life. They made everything better. Today was not a good day for her, but when her sisters asked her to take them for ice cream, she couldn't think of any better cure. She loved everything about them. They were funny and very smart for their ages, beautiful and innocent. Sometimes she even wished that they were her own daughters, and they would always love her and be there for her. She would be a better mother than theirs was. Not that she had a _bad_ mother, but Alexis could be a bit clueless sometimes when it came to parenting. She never really had time for her daughters unless they were in medical or legal straits, which Sam learned the hard way.

"Sam."

She looked away from her sisters, surprised that she didn't notice Jason's imposing figure standing over them.

"Jason, hey."

He looked like he was about to say something, but then stopped. Sam noticed that he did that a lot, especially when his sister wasn't around to speak for him. As she often did, Sam took control of the conversation, just so there wouldn't be any awkward silences.

"Are you here alone?" she asked.

Jason let out a breath before answering. "Yeah. You?"

Sam's eyes furrowed as she looked questioningly down at her sisters. They were small, yeah, but way too adorable to be missed.

"I mean, uh, obviously you're not here alone. Um, who are you friends?" Jason wanted to turn and run away at his idiotic questions. And he just knew that he was turning red. If Sam noticed, she didn't say anything.

"I'm Kristina Adele Davis, but you can call me Krissy, and that's Molly," the bubbly child announced, pointing to her baby sister.

"It's very nice to meet you, Kristina. You too, Molly."

Kristina beamed at the man, already deciding that she liked him. "Are you Sam's friend from school? How old are you? I'm five years old."

"Kristina, calm down," Sam laughed at her rambunctious sister. She turned towards Jason. "Sorry about that. She's just a bundle of energy. You can join us if you want. Unless you want to be by yourself, that's cool."

Jason smiled at Sam, who seemed to be unaware of how alike she and the little girl had just proven to be.

"Thanks, I'd like to sit with you guys." Sam moved inward in the booth closer to Kristina to allow him to sit.

Kristina grimaced. "We're not _guys_. We are _ladies_. Mama says we are young ladies and should be addressed as much. Right, Sam?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Of course. Sorry about that."

"No fences," Kristina said lightly, turning back to a drawing she was working on.

Jason looked amusedly at Sam, who just shook her head at Kristina's mistake. Still, she didn't correct her.

"So, what's up?" Sam asked. "Just felt like coming to this lovely establishment for a burger and some fries?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm here for. How'd you know?"

"Well that's all anybody comes here for."

"And the ice cream," Kristina interjected.

"Oh, how could I forget about the ice cream?"

"Maybe you have old lady problems, like Mama."

"Kristina!"

"What? She always forgets everything, like where she put stuff or if it's hot or cold. Is Jason your boyfriend?"

Jason's eyes went wide at Kristina's abrupt change of subject. He looked at Sam to see if she was mortified as well. Instead, he saw her smiling warmly at the little girl.

"What makes you say that?"

"'Cause he's a _boy_ friend and Mama says you can't have any more of those."

"When have I ever done anything Mom tells me to do?"

Kristina looked thoughtfully to the ceiling.

"I don't know. She always yells at you because you don't do what she tells you to. She said that's a bad example for me."

Sam's face fell slightly, even though she already knew what her mother thought of her antics. She just didn't realize that she was discussing them with Kristina.

Kristina seemed to notice the change. "It's okay, Sammy. I told her that you're the best big sister ever." She turned her attention to Jason before Sam could respond. "Do you have any sisters?"

"Uh, yeah. I have a sister. Her name's Maxie."

"Is she your big sister?"

"No, I'm older."

"Oh. Too bad. I'm the luckiest because I get to have a big sister _and_ be a big sister. How old is Maxie?"

"She's sixteen."

"Sam's sixteen, too! Does your sister know Sam?"

"Yeah, I know Maxie," Sam answered.

"Can I meet her? I never get to meet any of your friends."

"That's not true, Krissy. You know Lucky and Lulu."

Kristina sighed dramatically. "I always knew them, Sam. Those are _my_ friends. I only met Jason and that football player that came over."

"Football player?"

"Yeah. When I was thirsty at night I went to go get some water and I saw him in the kitchen. He told me he was your friend from school and that he plays football. And then he told me not to tell Mom and I forgot about it, until now."

Kristina went back to her drawing as if she had said nothing important at all. Sam looked at Jason, who was also looking at Kristina's picture, an equally concentrating look on his face.

Sam knew that she probably didn't have anything to worry about, but she wanted to make sure.

"Patrick was just over my house studying," she explained.

Jason looked at her, not knowing how to take the discovery. He had no reason _not_ to trust Sam, but she obviously didn't want anyone to know about her having anything to do with Patrick. He simply shrugged a shoulder and nodded his head in understanding.

"Morgan, got your food," Carly announced as she strolled over to the table with a plate and glass of water.

"Hi Carly!" Kristina said cheerfully.

"Howdy, darlin'. How's it going?"

"Good. Are you my friend, Carly?"

Carly feigned an offended expression and put her now empty hand over her chest. "Of course we're friends!"

Kristina giggled at the theatrics that she always encountered with the blonde.

"Do you know Jason?"

"Oh, yeah. Jason and I go _way_ back." She leaned in closer like she was going to tell her a secret and whispered, "He does all of my homework for me."

Kristina found this particularly amusing.

"Just kidding," Carly insisted. "Remember, never let a man do the work that you can do yourself. Got it?"

"Got it," Kristina repeated.

"Anything else I can get for you ladies?"

"_See_, Jason. '_Ladies_.'"

Jason nodded solemnly in understanding.

"No thanks, we're all set here," Sam said. "We'll just take the check, please."

Carly looked at Sam for the first time since approaching the table. "Fine," the older girl said curtly before taking the check from her apron pocket and placing it on the table, then walking away.

Jason could be blind and deaf and he still would have been able to sense the tension between the two of them.

"Sammy and Carly aren't friends," Kristina said quietly in an explanation. She looked down at Jason's plate.

"That's what Sammy always gets, except she doesn't like pickles. Sam, can we stay a little bit longer, just until Jason finishes eating too?"

Sam looked at Jason. Since Kristina dominated every conversation, he'd barely been able to get a word in. But she suspected that he wanted the company since he was the one who approached them.

"If Jason doesn't mind..."

"No, I don't mind. Stay, we can get to know each other better."

Sam was a bit surprised at this. She had known this guy for weeks, and he never seemed to want to have a real conversation with...anyone, really. She smiled a bit and turned to her sisters.

"I guess we could stay a little longer." She took a fry from Jason's plate, something he noticed she often did to her friends at the lunch table. They never seemed to mind much.

"So do you guy—_ladies_—come here a lot?" Jason asked before taking a bite of his burger.

"Not me and Molly, but Sam comes here a lot with Lucky and Jackal. Those are Sammy's other boyfriends. Lucky's dad owns this whole place, even the houses upstairs. Him and Mama are best friends, just like Lucky and Sam. Do you know Lucky and Jackal?"

Jason took a sip of water before answering. "Yep, I know them."

"Do you know Lulu? She's my friend, too."

"I know, Lulu, too. You have a lot of friends."

"I know. And you're my friend now too, right?"

"Kristina..." Sam warned.

The little girl blushed slightly. "Sorry. Sam says that I have to learn to slow down when I talk to people, especially new people. I forget sometimes, though."

"It's okay. My sister, Maxie, she does the same thing, so I'm used to it. And I'd like to be your friend."

"Yay! Now I have..." she paused to take a count on her fingers. "I don't have enough fingers, but it's at least a hundred friends."

"Kristina, you don't even know a hundred people."

"I do _to_, and they're _all_ my friends."

Sam chuckled at her little sister. "Well, how could anyone _not_ be your friend? You're only one of the _awesomest_ people I know."

"You, me, and Molly are the awesomest sisters in the whole world."

"That's right."

Jason silently watched their interaction, amazed at how differently Sam acted around her sisters. She was more relaxed, and a lot less closed off than she was at school. Then again, Kristina seemed to make him more at ease, too.

"Well, if it ain't pipsqueaks One, Two, and Three."

They all looked up to see an older man with very light blonde, almost white, hair and a charming smirk walk toward the table. He gave Molly a quick peck on the forehead, slightly ruffled Kristina's hair, and reached over to give Sam a fist bump.

"And who's the new kid?" he asked, looking to Jason.

"This is my—this is mine and _Sam's_ new friend. His name is Jason. He knows Lucky and Lulu, too."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah," Kristina answered, and then said to Jason, "That's Luke. He's Lucky and Lulu's dad. He's really funny. He's my friend, too."

Jason stood and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Spencer."

Luke looked dubiously from Jason's hand to Sam, who just hid a smile behind her hand. Finally, he took Jason's hand and shook it firmly.

"A kid with manners. I'll be damned," he muttered. "Jason, is it?"

Jason nodded as Luke let go of his hand.

"You wouldn't happen to know a pint-sized blondie currently bouncing around my house trying to get rid of everything that isn't nailed down?"

"Oh, um. Sorry about that. My sister, she can be a bit much sometimes."

"No, no. It's okay. I like her. She's spunky. Though she nearly talked my ear off with her entire life story, and I was only there for about five minutes. Poor cowboy was about ready to blow his brains out, though."

"Wait, Maxie's over _your_ house?" Sam asked Luke.

"Oh, is that her name? I think she forgot to mention that. Yeah, one of you might want to get over there and help out the poor boy. Lulu's not being much help in her condition."

"Pregnant?" Sam asked jokingly.

"Bite your tongue, Squeak! What, are you trying to give an old man another heart attack?"

"I was just kidding."

"We should go see Lucky and Lulu. And then I can meet Jason's sister," Kristina said excitedly.

"Sorry, babe, but Lulu's sick, and we don't want you to catch anything," Sam said sadly, already seeing the dismay on her little sister's face. If it was anything that could break her, though, it was Kristina's famous pout. So she had to improvise.

"Jason, what are you doing tonight?"

"Um, I...nothing." _Real smooth._

"Okay, well do you think you could come to my place?"

Jason's brain was officially frozen. Never did he think she would say those words to him. But then he looked at her sisters and realized that it would probably be a family affair.

"Then I could tell Lucky to bring Maxie over and we can all hang out."

"Even me?" Kristina asked.

"Of course, half-pint."

"But you never let me play with the big kids," the little girl said in awe.

"Okay, we're not going to _play_. We're going to _hang_. You have to know the difference if you want to be with us. Playing is for little kids, but tonight, _you_ get to be a big kid."

"Okay Sam. I promise, I'll be cool."

Sam laughed at her sister's choice of words as she hugged her. She looked over to Jason, who seemed to be stuck in place. Then she realized that she just made plans for him and he never even agreed. Maybe he didn't want to waste time with a five-year-old.

"Well, that is, if Jason _wants_ to party with us."

Jason came back to reality at the sound of his name. "Yeah. Yeah, I can do that."

"Great. I'll just text Lucky now."

"It's amazing how little parents have to be involved in these kinds of decisions," Luke said dryly, standing all but forgotten by the kids.

"Whatever, Luke. You know you don't mind. Besides, Alexis is out of town on business, so _she_ won't mind."

"Fine. But no kinky stuff," the man answered as he walked toward the kitchen.

"Sam, what's 'kinky' mean?"


End file.
